Lost Sky
by Kouko-chan
Summary: Gokudera had a horrible nightmare about Tsuna. He fears that something terrible happens to his beloved boss. And it appears that it's not just unjustified concern.
1. Premonition

**I don't own Katekyo Hitman REBORN. I hope you enjoy this.**

**Chapter 1: Premonition**

There was water dripping around. I could hear it. I opened my eyes and saw that I was in some kind of dark mansion. The floor was wooden and creaked at my every move. I was sitting, leaning against a wall in what looked like a living room without furniture.

It was difficult to discern anything in the darkness, but I realized that something was lying on the ground, about three feet in front of me. I stood with effort, finding that my body was sore and covered in bruises. My hands were drenched in blood.

I didn't know what was happening or in what place I was. I felt chills. I knew something was very wrong in that situation, even not having a hyper-intuition like Juudaime's. 

Juudaime ...

My heart sank suddenly and I began to feel very afraid. Is he around? Driven by an unknown force, I forced myself to walk towards what I had seen lying on the ground. To my horror, I realized it was breathing erratically. It was a person.

In a further step, I almost slip in a lot of liquid spread on the floor. It didn't seem to be water, I could tell even without seeing it properly.

"Gokudera-kun..."

That voice... I felt my blood run cold. I didn't care for anything else, I ran towards that voice. Soon, I slipped on the liquid and fell upon the body. A strong smell of blood invaded my nostrils.  
>I had just fallen on the chest of that person. I could not discern anything, but my hands felt the blood gushing from various points. Then a small and soft hand gripped mine. So cold and trembling.<p>

"Gokudera..." The voice was very weak, almost inaudible, but I could be sure that the person was under me and that was his voice I was hearing. I didn't want to believe. I needed light, I needed to see, I had hoped that my senses were deceiving me. Yes, it had to be that! That voice could not be...

"URI" I shouted. The fire cat jumped burning out of my gear on my shoulder and appeared strangely quiet. The flames of its ears and tail lit up the place and I could look down.  
>It was as if the sky had shattered and fallen on me. I could not speak or move... I was losing feeling in my body. I started shaking and my vision was blurred.<p>

It could not be true.

Juudaime... bleeding on the floor... so many deep wounds from which blood flowed... his face with no color... eyes half-opened...

"You're okay... Gokudera-kun... that's good..."

Gokudera Hayato opened his eyes and saw the sky above him. He was lying on the school roof, Sawada Tsunayoshi was at his side, looking at him with concern. The silver-haired man could not avoid facing his boss for what seemed to be an eternity.

"Gokudera-kun, you're crying. You had a nightmare? Your cry startled me, are you okay?" Tsuna inquired worried. His friend told him earlier that he had spent a sleepless night watching a documentary about the Loch Ness monster, and because of it he would use the interval between classes to sleep on the roof. Tsuna went with him, not wanting to be left alone, since his other friends were busy that day.

"Maybe I should call Dr. Shamal," Tsuna said. However, before he could get up, Gokudera bowed exaggeratedly, banging his head on the floor.

"I-I... I never... Juudaime..." The Guardian spoke without stopping crying, which made the Tenth feel uncomfortable.

"Gokudera-kun, please do not-"

"I'll never let anything bad happen to you." Hayato finished speaking, rising to be able to look at the face of his boss, still with a large volume of tears streaming down his cheeks. Tsuna had no idea about what was happening, but thought that it was better to do something.

"Hey, Gokudera-kun, what if we went out for a ride after school? We could go to the store that you always talk about." Tsuna suggested, smiling. Hayato was a little calmer.

"If that's what Juudaime wants to do." He said, trying to force a smile.

Far away, on a bench in a park, a girl with long orange hair watched the dark clouds gathering in the sky.

"The storm is fun ... it is so easy to play with it. But what I really want is to have the sky."


	2. The Reunion

Thanks for the reviews, favorites and alerts. ;)

**Chapter 2: The reunion**

"Oh, sorry, Gokudera-kun." Tsuna said to his guardian of the storm in front of the closed stylized T-shirt shop, that was two blocks of the school. _Hiie why did it have to be closed right now?__I just wanted to cheer Gokudera-kun up!_

Hayato looked at the store without actually seeing it. His thoughts were still in the nightmare he had. Tsuna noticed the forlorn expression on the face of his friend and felt bad.

"So, Gokudera-kun, what if we went to a movie theater?" Tsuna suggested. As if waking from a dream, Gokudera replied in surprise:

"Juudaime wants to see a movie with me? W-what movie?"

"Oh... you can choose, right, Gokudera-kun?" The Tenth asked, smiling kindly. That smile made Hayato feel warm inside.

"It will be a pleasure, Juudaime!"

The two of them went to the movies and Hayato chose the film that, as he said, was worthy of being seen by the Tenth.

"Zombie Killer 3D?" Tsuna asked in horror before the outdoor that the guardian of the storm was pointing with great enthusiasm, which basically showed the undead coming out of the graves and devouring humans.

"It's the best movie of the year, Juudaime! From what I read, the 3D effects are so good that you feel the blood been thrown at your face!" Hayato spoke with his eyes shining in happiness for providing to his beloved leader such high-level entertainment, obviously not realizing the terrified expression of Sawada Tsunayoshi.

_This movie will not let me sleep at night!__I don't want to see it!__But Gokudera-kun looks so excited..._

Tsuna just faked enthusiasm for the film and agreed to watch it. Ten minutes later, he was regretting it.

"Juudaime, you saw how the man's head was thrown away? It was amazing!" Gokudera said with a huge smile, not getting distracting from the film. Tsuna's eyes were closed under the 3D glasses, but the screams of the film and the detailed comments of his guardian didn't ease his movie experience.  
>"G-Gokudera-kun, I need to go to the restroom. I'll be right back, OK?" Tsuna said, praying that the other would believe him.<p>

"Huh? Juudaime, I'll go with you!" Hayato started to get up, but Tsuna prevented him, saying, "Don't worry, I don't want you to miss any part of the movie."

Outside the cine theater, Tsuna could breathe in relief. _I really don't want to go back to that session, but if I'm not back soon Gokudera-kun will be worried.__I need to do it for him!_

"Such a beautiful feeling." A female voice said. Startled, Tsuna saw that there was a girl about his age near the movies' posters looking at him. She had long curly orange hair that reached her knees, big purple eyes and very white skin. She also had an enigmatic smile and piercing eyes and wore a black lace dress with long sleeves and flowing skirt that covered her knees. She walked over to Tsuna and said: "To accept suffering to make someone happy. Worthy of the Great Sky of the Vongola Famiglia."

"Hiie, V-Vongola you said? What do you-"

"Quiet!" The girl ordered. Tsuna said no more after that. He could not move either. _What is happening to me?__Who's that girl?__It is dangerous, I have to get away from her, but I can't move!_

The girl stroked Tsuna's face gently.

"It's so strange that someone with such power has sweet eyes like these... you look so fragile. Like a porcelain doll that is both beautiful and delicate. I wonder, Great Sky, how hard it would be to break you."

Meanwhile, Gokudera looked at his digital watch with apprehension. _It's been five minutes, why is Juudaime taking so much to come back?__May something have happened?_

Distressed, Gokudera hastily left the theater. Outside, a group of people were crowded around something. Hayato approached them and could hear what they were saying.

"The ambulance is on its way?"

"Yes."

"Someone saw what happened?"

"He just fell down from nothing. I think someone was talking to him a little before that."

"Is he sick, his appearance is not good."

"It looks like he's dying, doesn't it?"

Gokudera made his way through the crowd and finally could see what was lying on the floor. It was an unconscious and deathly pale Sawada Tsunayoshi.

_Juu...__dai...__ me__...?_

Feeling his strength leaving his body, Gokudera Hayato fell on his knees. He crawled over the inert body of his boss. Hands trembling sought desperately for signs of life and could feel a weak pulse.

_A very weak pulse._

"What happened?" He asked to the face devoid of color of his Tenth, "What? Juudaime? How can…? Why? No… no ... NO!"

The people around had to hold the silver-haired boy who had begun to cry in despair.

_Where am I?_ Tsuna wondered. He could see nothing but darkness around him. He was standing in somewhere and that was all what he knew.

"Juudaime" He heard Gokudera's voice calling him happily.

"Gokudera-kun, are you here? What is this place?"

"It's a dream, Juudaime. A beautiful dream."

"Dream? Beautiful?" Tsuna was panicking.

"Yes, Juudaime," Gokudera said in a more sinister tone and Tsuna realized that the voice was coming closer, "it is a beautiful dream in which you will be all mine. I'll have all the things love the most in you in my hands."

"W-What are you saying?" Tsuna walked back, trying to gain distance. His hyper-intuition shouted to him to run from the owner of that voice.

"Your eyes are so beautiful, Juudaime. I've always found them the most precious jewels in the world. Please do not cry a lot when I pull them out, okay?"


	3. Gokudera's fear

I took more time to write this one, I'm sorry about it.

**Chapter 3: Gokudera's fear**

Gokudera was sitting in a chair in the hallway of the hospital, alone. He was staring at the floor. He could not do anything else. He felt as if he was not in the real world, as if he was floating in a strange dimension while ghostly images plagued his mind. Perhaps he was still in that nightmare. Maybe his Juudaime was somewhere outside that place, speaking with that lovely voice about his concerns while his loyal right hand man assured him that everything would be fine and that he would never let anything bad happen to the Tenth.

"Gokudera, what happened to Dame Tsuna?" Reborn questioned, tense. The guardian of the storm did not realize when the arcobaleno had sat in the chair at his right.

"How did you know we were here?" It was the first thing Hayato asked. He was not really curious. Possibly, he hadn't even realized what he had asked.

"I have informants in the entire city. I tried contacting the other guardians, but I only got to talk to Yamamoto. Oh, there he comes."

"Kid, Gokudera, what happened to Tsuna?" Yamamoto questioned in concern, running towards them.

"Apparently he collapsed outside a movie theater and was brought here. Did the doctors say anything, Gokudera? GOKUDERA!"

Hayato had not heard anything. Water dripped from his face and wet his knees.

"Why did I let Juudaime get away from me?" The question came from the lips of the young silver-haired man in a whisper. "Juudaime was on the floor, still... so pale."

Gokudera was thrown to the ground, suddenly, by a strong kick from Reborn

.  
>"Pull yourself together, Gokudera." Reborn ordered coldly. Yamamoto tried to help him to get up, but the guardian of the storm refused.<p>

"So you also came, stupid baseball freak?"

"Ha ha, I thought you were in need of a friendly shoulder."

"Damn, how can you laugh when Juudaime...?"

"Tsuna will be fine, Gokudera," Yamamoto said with serenity and confidence, "he's very strong. He's able to overcome anything."

Hayato looked away after Takeshi told him that and said no more. He would not admit that those words had comforted him. _Thanks, baseball idiot._

"Excuse me, are you the family of Sawada Tsunayoshi-kun?" A doctor, coming from a room at the end of the hall, asked.

"Yes, we are." Reborn replied without hesitation, "How is Tsuna?"

Before the doctor answered, a horrific and excruciating scream, full of agony, was heard. Gokudera, Yamamoto and Reborn knew that voice very well. They ran into the room where the cry had come from.

There, two nurses tried to stop the movements of the future head of the Vongola, who was writhing frantically, screaming and sobbing. One of the nurses tried to make the visitors leave the room, but Hayato resisted, pushed the man against the wall and went to the bed where Tsuna was lying. He climbed on top of his boss and held his arms tightly, in order to avoid the Tenth to harm himself. The remaining nurse, not really understanding the teenager's attitude, held the legs of the young Vongola.

"Juudaime, I'm here, please wake up." Gokudera begged. _Juudaime is in pain. Why does he have to feel pain? I can't stand seeing him like that. Someone, please, make it stop. Juudaime..._

And then, Tsuna stopped moving, opened his eyes and saw Gokudera on top of him.

"Juudaime?" Gokudera asked in emotion. Yamamoto, a few steps away, grinned. However, Reborn was serious. Something was wrong. That became more evident when an orange flame appeared on Tsuna's forehead and he sent Hayato flying away, throwing him against the nurse who held his legs, knocking both to the ground.

**In the next chapter: Tsuna's dream.**


	4. I can't do this

I'm sorry for taking so long to write, my life is a little complicated.

Thank you very much for the reviews, they make me truly happy. :D

**Chapter 4: I can't do this**

Tsuna ran into the darkness, lost in his despair.

_If this is a dream, why can't I wake up?_

"There's no running from me, Juudaime. You will be mine forever." That voice which until recently gave security to the tenth was now filling him with terror.

_Why is Gokudera-kun trying to kill me? Even if it's a dream, I am not able to conceive such a thing._

Suddenly something exploded near Tsuna and he was thrown away. Unknown shrapnel pierced his legs, causing him immense pain. Unwittingly, he cried.

"Your voice is so lovely, Juudaime."

Another thing exploded near Tsuna, causing him more injuries. He tried to escape in some way, but could barely move. He then felt someone sit on him and hold his arms tightly. The breath of that person caressed Tsuna's face. In a complete state of panic, the young Vongola closed his eyes tightly.

_I have to wake up IhavetowakeupIhavetowakeup._

"You're so mean, Juudaime. I'll have to force you to open your eyes."

Tsuna roared in pain as his captor squeezed his left arm tightly, breaking it. He opened his eyes.

_I will not wake up. I'll get killed for real. I have to fight... I need to survive this._

The determination of the guardian of sky gave him strength, and he managed to throw his attacker away. When he noticed that his hands were on fire, Tsuna realized that he was in hyper mode. Thanks to the flames of the dying will, the boy could see Gokudera Hayato sitting on the floor a yard away.

That silver-haired man stared at Tsuna coldly.

"You're not Gokudera-kun. This is not a normal dream!"

The fake Hayato smirked.

"I could not expect less from you, Great Sky. If you want to leave this place, there is only one way to do it: kill me."

Tsuna's eyes widened in horror.

"What's wrong, _Juudaime_?" The false Hayato questioned meanly, rising to his feet. "I am a mere projection in your mind. Don't you want to wake up?"

The guardian of the sky extended his not broken arm toward the other guardian.

_I just need to launch an X-Burner and it all ends._

Tsuna's arm, however, could not stop shaking. When he looked at that face, at those green eyes, his heart ached.

"I can't do this." The tenth acknowledged defeat, letting some tears fall. "Even if you're a fake, I can't do this to Gokudera-kun."

The false Gokudera ran to Tsuna, grabbed him by the neck and lifted him off the ground.

"You are such a ridiculous child, Great Sky."

The last thing Tsuna heard was a bang, as if the sky was falling above his head.


	5. Wake up, Juudaime

Thank you for the reviews, they made me smile. :)

I know chapter 4 was really short (so sorry), so I did this one longer. Please, enjoy it.

**Chapter 5: Wake up, Juudaime.**

The glass cup on the desk fell down and broke when the man shook the asleep girl. She opened her eyes and scanned the living-room of the mansion with disappointment. The room had only the big gray chair on which the girl was sitting and a desk right beside it, from where the glass had fallen.

The mansion was made of wood and had two floors. It had been purchased a few days ago by two members of a prestigious Russian family. They were twin siblings, a boy and girl, and looked extraordinarily similar. Like her, he had orange hair (but shorter and smooth) and purple eyes; he was a little taller than his sister. Their names were Catharina and Boris Bakhtin.

"You woke me up while I was inside the mind of another person. Do you have any idea how dangerous this was?" The girl asked coldly.

"Why did you need to get to sleep to enter someone's mind? Can't you do it awake?" The other asked.

"I was awake at the time when he was captured. When I came back home I decided to sleep; it is easier to control the victim that way."

Boris walked away from his sister a few steps. He seemed afraid.

"What were you doing, Catharina?"

The young woman stood up and graciously responded with a slight smile on her lips:

"I was playing with Tsunayoshi. Too bad you broke the trance before I had pulled his eyes off."

Boris went deathly pale.

"You can't run the risk of killing the Vongola Tenth. The plan was not that, Catharina!"

She studied her brother as if she found him funny somehow.

"It's always fascinating how you think you can hide your fear from me. When I was pulled out of the dream so abruptly, I believe that the inner world of the Great Sky collapsed. If something happens to him that compromises the plan, the responsibility will be yours. And I'll have to punish you."

Unconsciously, Boris stiffened. Cold sweat ran down his face.

"Tsunayoshi will wake up, Boris, do not worry. If he does not, then it will mean that he is weak and disposable, like you." Catharina concluded dryly, leaving the living room. After that, Boris fell on his knees, trembling.

_If I do nothing, she'll kill me.__I can't trust her.__I need to get my hands on the Vongola Tenth first._

Meanwhile, in the hospital, Gokudera was alone in the room with Tsuna, who had been lying unconscious and motionless in his bed for hours. Reborn and Yamamoto were contacting everyone to an emergency meeting. The silver-haired young man, however, could not walk away from his Juudaime, even after what had happened.

**Flash-Back**

Gokudera looked at Tsuna, who was in hyper mode, in shock after being thrown against the wall by his boss. The nurses left the room running, scared.

"You're not Gokudera-kun. This is not a normal dream!" Tsuna accused.

"W-what? What are you saying, Juudaime?"

"Kid, what's going on with Tsuna?" Yamamoto inquired, frightened, not knowing what to do.

"He must still be dreaming. Gokudera, get away from his reach!" Reborn ordered, but Hayato didn't want to listen to the arcobaleno. He rose from the ground and tried to get closer to Tsuna. But the young Tenth extended his arm toward his guardian of the storm, as if preparing an X-Burner. Yamamoto wanted to run to get Gokudera out of there, but Reborn stopped him.

"GOKUDERA, GET OUT OF THERE NOW!" Reborn ordered again. In that situation, the hitman would have to take an attitude which could seriously hurt Tsuna.

"But Juudaime is not well! He seems frightened and in pain! I can't leave him! Juudaime, listen to me! LISTEN TO ME, PLEASE!"

And then Hayato realized that Tsuna's arm would not stop shaking and tears were falling from his boss's eyes.

"I can't do this." Tsuna said. "Even if you're a fake, I can't do this to Gokudera-kun."

Soon after that, Tsuna started to choke and hit the ground. Gokudera, Reborn and Yamamoto ran to him, trying to help him. The dying will flame had been extinguished. A few seconds later, the guardian of the sky stopped moving and closed his eyes. Yamamoto was sent to call a doctor. When the doctor examined Tsuna, it did not take too long for him to diagnose that the boy was in coma.

**End of Flash-Back**

Gokudera looked at Tsuna in deep sadness and desolation. That could not be true. That day could not be real. _If this is another nightmare, I want to wake up.__I want to wake up now!__This is worse than that time in the future, when I saw Juudaime in that coffin and I thought the future Juudaime had died.__What am I thinking?__Juudaime will not die!__I will not let Juudaime die!__He'll be fine.__Juudaime is strong, he can overcome everything.__He'll wake up for sure!__That doctor does not know anything!__He does not understand how Juudaime is incredible.__No one understands!__Only I do._

Before he knew it, Gokudera grabbed one of Tsuna's hands with his two ones and approached them to his face. He could not stop the tears now.

"Wake up, Juudaime. I beg you, wake up. I can't bear a world in which you don't exist."

Tsuna was in the darkness. He felt nothing, saw nothing nor heard anything. Maybe he was floating or falling slowly, he didn't know.

_What happened to me?__It was as if the world had disappeared...__ did __I die?__But I was dreaming, right?__Am I still sleeping?_

Tsuna began to hear the voice of Gokudera. Unlike the first time, now the guardian of the storm was crying and sounded desperate.

"I don't have the right to ask you anything, Juudaime. I have always said with pride that I was your right-hand man, but what have I done for you until today? I could never protect you from anything, I'm so worthless. Today I swore I would protect you and I failed again!"

_Gokudera-kun? Why are you crying?__It hurts...__it hurts so much._

"I can't do anything right ever! I'm just useless, a nuisance! You deserve someone better, someone more reliable than me. I have been always so arrogant... I used to feel so strong... I thought you would always be safe if you were with me. Would it have made any difference if I had left the theater with you? Why didn't I do it? Why did I agree on letting you go out alone?"

_Stop crying, Gokudera-kun, please._

"I wanted to trade places with you. I wanted to feel your pain so you wouldn't feel it. It's not fair that you suffer! There is no one like you in the world. You are always so good and kind, even to those who do not deserve it. You saved me and accepted me even after I tried to kill you... you smiled at me so many times. I didn't deserve those things. I never deserved you. If I could trade places with you... I could even die for your sake."

_NO!__STOP SAYING THESE THINGS!__I have to stop you.__I need to get to where you are.__I HAVE TO WAKE UP FOR GOKUDERA-KUN!_

Hayato felt that little hand moving between his big ones. With a mixture of hope and fear, he looked at Tsuna's face and saw that he was awake.

"Please don't be sad anymore, Gokudera-kun." Tsuna asked weakly. "Don't say sad things like those ever again. It hurts me a lot when I see you suffering... I don't want anything bad to happen to you."

An entire floor of the hospital heard the cry of Gokudera, full of tears and happiness.

"JUUDAAIIMMEEE!"


	6. Approaching

I realized that it would be good to clarify the chronology of the fic. It happens after Shimon saga and before the current arc of the manga. Chrome is already living with the Sasagawas.

**Chapter 6: Approaching**

"I'm sorry, Juudaime." Gokudera said steadily. He held his knees tightly and leaned forward, keeping his face down. A few seconds before, the guardian of the storm was hugging Tsuna tightly as he cried with happiness. In fact, Tsuna had been embraced with such force that he began to feel pain and reported it to Gokudera as politely as possible.

"Don't worry, Gokudera-kun. It didn't hurt that much." Tsuna tried to comfort Hayato, but soon realized that it was useless. His hyper-intuition told him that that apology was not restricted to a hug.

"I made you suffer, right, Gokudera-kun?" Tsuna asked sadly, which made the silver-haired boy raise his face to look at him. "I'm not sure about what happened, but you were crying because of me, weren't you? I'm sorry."

"Juudaime..." Gokudera was invaded by a strong sense of guilt. _I'm making Juudaime sad.__I need to do something about it._

He then forced a smile and said:

"I'm not suffering, Juudaime! I'm very happy now that you are awake! You should also be happy."

Tsuna smiled shyly after hearing those words. Gokudera kept the smile on his lips while his mind wandered.

_I wish Juudaime could smile and be happy all the time._

__Suddenly, Reborn and Yamamoto entered the room.

"We've only found Ryohei and Chrome. Shamal and Bianchi also came. How is Tsu-" Reborn was saying when he saw his student sitting on the bed.

"Reborn, you look pale. Are you feeling well?" Tsuna asked in concern. Reborn gave him a flying kick that almost toppled the Tenth from the bed.

"Never frighten your guardians like this, Dame Tsuna!" The arcobaleno said without looking at Sawada. Tsuna thought he had seen his tutor's hands trembling for a second.

"Tsuna, I'm glad you woke up!" Yamamoto said, happy and relieved. "You worried us when you went into hyper mode while sleeping and tried to hit Gokudera with an X-Burner."

Tsuna's shocked and horrified expression made Yamamoto realize that he had said too much.

"YOU BASEBALL IDIOT!" Gokudera shouted angrily. He wanted to punch Yamamoto, but he was more concerned about the Tenth at the moment. "Juudaime, do not listen to what this retarded says! He just talks nonsense, he has sushi in his head!"

"Stop it, Gokudera!" Reborn ordered coldly. "Tsuna must know the truth."

"I almost killed Gokudera-kun?" Tsuna wondered aloud, being invaded by despair. "I did that for real? No... no..."

"You'd better tell us everything that happened. We are in a very dangerous situation." Reborn said.

"So Sawada was sleepwalking to the extreme?" Ryohei walked screaming into the room. Chrome came soon after him and asked if the Boss was ok. Tsuna was not paying attention to them. Gokudera saw those brown eyes of his boss being filled with tears.

_Why are they doing this?__Why are they treating Juudaime this way?__He has just woken up, he still can't handle this.__Why no one else understands?_

"It'll be okay, Hayato." Gokudera heard a familiar voice behind him. Without thinking, he turned around, saw Bianchi's face and fainted.

_Sound of rain?__Where am I?_

The guardian of the storm found himself lying on a field full of orange flowers under a dark and rainy sky. The strong and cold wind made him shiver.

"Juudaime... where are you?" He stood up and looked around without finding anything but orange flowers.

Hayato soon realized that the wind had a strange sound.

_Someone's crying...__ it's __Juudaime._

"JUUDAIME?" Gokudera called. He was shivering, but began to run, looking for his boss.

He ran for what seemed like hours, changing direction at times, but could not find Tsuna. The Tenth's voice gave the impression of being in the wind itself.

"JUUDAIME, WHERE ARE YOU? PLEASE, DO NOT CRY, I WILL FIND YOU!"

Gokudera ran aimlessly to exhaustion, but refused to stop. He had to find his precious boss. However, there came a time when the guardian of the storm could no longer move forward. His legs could not bear the weight of his body anymore and he fell.

The flowers had a delicious sweet aroma and their petals were extremely soft and delicate.

"I almost killed Gokudera-kun."

_The Juudaime's voice is__in the wind.__Where is he?__Juudaime..._

"I can't bear this pain. I can't live with this pain."

Gokudera's eyes widened in a state of absolute terror. Had he just heard the Tenth saying that he couldn't live?

Gokudera tried to stand up, but failed. All he could do was crawl.

.  
>After a few minutes, he came upon the hem of a white lace dress. Looking up, he found a girl with orange hair.<p>

"Give up. Reaching the sky is impossible for you. The sky belongs only to me, Gokudera Hayato." She said in a whisper.

The guardian of the storm woke up on a couch. He was in the living room of the Sawada's residence.

"You finally woke up, Hayato." Bianchi said. She was sitting in a chair nearby, wearing goggles that covered part of her face.

"Aneki? What happened? What about Juudaime?" The silver-haired boy was bewildered.

"Tsuna is in his room with Reborn. He is afraid of sleeping. You fainted in the hospital and missed the entire reunion. In fact, you've been unconscious for more than ten hours."

"I must see Juudaime." Gokudera jumped off the couch, but was pulled back by the arm by Bianchi.

"Hayato, in these ten hours we investigated thoroughly many Mafia families to try to find suspects." Bianchi told her brother in a serious tone.

"Did you find a suspect?" Gokudera asked anxiously.

"Actually, we have been found by one." Bianchi said. A young man came walking solemnly from the kitchen into the living room, wearing an elegant black coat.

"My name is Boris Ivanovich Bakhtin. Nice to meet you, Vongola Tenth's right-hand man."


	7. The Bakhtin family

**I'm having some problems with Internet, sorry for keeping you waiting. ;_;**

**Chapter 7: The Bakhtin family**

_This guy is a suspect?_ Gokudera wondered, startled. He wanted to punch the man in his front, to kill him, to erase his existence. The idea that his Juudaime had gone under such misery because of that stranger made Hayato's blood boil. But he had to stay calm. Maybe that man wasn't the culprit, but knew who was. If he killed him, his boss could be attacked again. _I can't let this happen, I must protect Juudaime this time._

"What do you have to tell us?" The guardian of the storm questioned, keeping his mood under control. Boris smiled discretely at him and replied:

"My sister, Catharina, is the person behind the attack against the Tenth Vongola. Her power is said to be the strongest occurrence in our family's history."

"What sort of power would that be?" Bianchi asked, coldly.

"To put it simply, for centuries our family has had the ability to manipulate and control people's minds." Boris told them. The eyes of the siblings were wide in shock and they couldn't say anything, so the young man continued. "The Bakhtins used to be one of the richest noble families in Russia. Our powers granted us a lot of power, even the czar couldn't fight us. Unfortunately, we weren't able to control many people at once at that time. When that revolution took place, the Bakhtins lost everything. Few of us survived and neither had enough power to gain everything back. My sister and I were born in a little city in Siberia. Soon enough, we had realized just how powerful she was."

"What do you mean?" Bianchi asked.

"When we were 8 years old, she killed our father and took control of the entire city." Boris stated, horrifying the others.

"Why are you here? Why are you after Juudaime?" Gokudera couldn't keep his calm any longer.

"Obviously, we wanted his power. To control him and the Mafia World was the plan Catharina and I created-" Boris didn't have the chance to finish talking. Hayato had jumped to him and punched him hard. If Bianchi hadn't stopped her brother, the Russian man could have died.

"I'm no longer helping her," Boris stated, getting back to his feet, "besides, she doesn't seem to have interest in the Mafia's power anymore."

"So she's going to leave Juudaime alone?" Gokudera questioned with a bit of hope, which vanished due to the dark look the other gave him.

"She's obsessed with Sawada Tsunayoshi in a way I never thought it was possible. She wants him only for herself and she'll kill anyone, including me, that becomes an obstacle. I didn't have any other choice than coming to you. I'm willing to help Vongola and I'll accept any punishment." Boris said, bowing apologetically. Gokudera couldn't believe him, but a voice coming from up stairs caught his attention. Reborn and the Tenth were looking at them from above, going down right after being noticed.

"He's telling the truth." Tsuna said in a strange calm tone, which make the storm guardian shiver. Boris smiled at the young boy in a way that Hayato found suspicious. _Something is wrong!_ His own intuition was screaming. Tsuna turned himself to his right-hand man and gave him a sorrowful look.

"Gokudera-kun, I didn't have the chance to apologize earlier. I-I'm so sorry." The young Vongola's voice almost cracked as some water appeared in his brown eyes. Hayato felt his own heart being strangled as he saw his beloved boss like that.

"What are you apologizing for, Juudaime? You did nothing wrong! Nothing wrong at all!"

"I almost killed you, Gokudera-kun. I'll never forgive myself, I'm so sorry." The tears began to fall from Tsuna's eyes as he covered his mouth with his hands. Hayato didn't know what to do; he couldn't see his Juudaime like that.

"It was not your fault, Juudaime. If it was for you to break free, I wouldn't mind-"

"HAYATO!" Bianchi yelled. "Don't say unnecessary things, do you want him to feel worse?"

"It's not unnecessary, Aneki! Juudaime should know it! He should know it already that his life is much more precious than mine!"

Reborn kicked Gokudera on the chin, knocking him down.

"You're the one who should know it, Gokudera," the hitman said in a terrifying tone, "Dame Tsuna is not the kind of boss who does not value his men's lives."

Of course Gokudera knew that, but knowing that didn't make him agree with that point of view. The Tenth was a wonderful person who cared about everybody and hated to see others suffering. It was a beautiful thing about him that Hayato truly loved. But in a situation in which his boss had to choose between saving himself and saving his right-hand man, the Tenth should know that his life was the most important thing. Everybody should know that nothing was more important than Judaime's life. However, at that moment, Hayato knew that his protectiveness was only hurting more his boss.

"I'm sorry for making you sad, Juudaime."

"Gokudera-kun, I need you to promise something."

"Anything, Juudaime."

"Please, promise me that next time you won't put yourself in such a dangerous situation for my sake." Tsuna said, trying hard to hold back his tears. "If something were to happen to you, I don't know what I would do."

Gokudera felt something strange inside of him. It was some sort of urge to embrace his boss tightly and never let go. He tried to shake that idea off, since it wouldn't be dignified to the great Vongola Juudaime to have someone like him, Gokudera Hayato, doing such things. But he wanted to comfort Tsuna so much, he needed to make his boss feel happy and safe again… and smile like he used to. Not even the stars or the moon shone more than Juudaime's smile. But how could he promise that? He would be just lying to his boss. It was impossible not to do anything necessary for his boss's safety. Gokudera would be willing to walk through the valleys of Hell if it was for Juudaime's sake.

"I can't promise you that, Juudaime." He finally managed to say, for Tsuna's unhappiness. "But I promise you that I'll always be there for you, so I can't die and leave you alone. Is this enough?"

Hayato bowed and hit his forehead on the floor. And then, small and delicate hands lifted his head, so he could see his boss's face. He was still sad, but this time was smiling.

"It's okay, then. Thank you Gokudera-kun."

Hayato felt his face getting warm. That soft touch was making him want to cry. To be so close to the Tenth's face, to notice every detail of him… Hayato felt so many strange things that he became a little frightened.

"Are you all right, Gokudera-kun?" Tsuna asked, innocently. Startled, Hayato went back to his feet in a hurry.

"S-sure, Juudaime. I just need to investigate that girl's power, I need to look for some books and movies." The guardian of the storm said nervously, without understanding what he was feeling.

"You can know anything you want from me, Gokudera-kun." Boris offered, smiling widely.

"I prefer to do things my own way." Hayato replied, rudely. He couldn't trust that man. Although his heart ached by leaving the Tenth behind due mostly to his selfish confused emotions, he needed to go. _Reborn-san is there, it will be okay._

"I should go after Gokudera-kun." Tsuna said, worried. Boris, however, caressed the boy's chin gently and dissuaded him. "Just let him be, Sawada-san."

_These guys haven't realized yet what I have done, not even the arcobaleno. Too bad the poison scorpion didn't leave her brother alone at any time. If she had, I could have influenced him too. Anyway, my victory is almost certain._


	8. Toward the enemy

**Chapter 8: Toward the enemy**

Hayato was at the living room of his tiny apartment, watching a movie called _Inception_ while taking notes. He was sitting on the floor, between the sofa and the television. However, his mind was distant.

_What I felt earlier when Juudaime touched me…_

"I wonder if you already have a name for that feeling." A voice said. Gokudera jumped to his feet and found a familiar girl in lace dress sitting on the sofa. Before he could do anything, she informed:

"You fell asleep while watching the movie. This is a dream of yours and I came to visit you. As you may guess, I am Catharina."

The guardian of the storm was frozen. _It's her! She's the one who's after him! She tortured Juudaime! I've seen her in a dream before. Does it mean she's playing with my mind too? Damn her! I should do something, but I'm under her power, stuck in a dream! This is the worst case scenario possible!_

"Don't worry, Gokudera Hayato. I simply came to alert you." She said with a small smile.

"What do you mean?"

"I know about what my coward brother is doing, but I don't think you know. By this time, he must have put the guardians and all the people in Sawada Tsunayoshi's residence under his control. He plans to make them attack me tomorrow." She informed emotionlessly. It was hard for Gokudera to buy that story.

"D-do you think you can fool me? As if Reborn-san, Juudaime, Aneki and the others would be controlled by someone! You are the only enemy here! You are trying to capture him!" Hayato yelled, deeply angry.

"Boris is capable of planting ideas in people's minds by touching them with his right hand. He's not very strong, so he can't complete control people, but his intelligence makes for it. When he plants an idea, he makes the victim think the idea came from his/her own mind. That power allows him to manipulate others without letting them notice it. Even Sawada Tsunayoshi has been deceived by him." Catharina explained, calmly.

Gokudera clenched his fists. _It was strange for Reborn-san and the others to allow that man inside the house so quickly, even though Aneki was suspecting of him. If that man had touched the Tenth and confused his hyper-intuition, then it would be easier for him to get the others. And if he could assemble everyone and greet them by extending his hand, he could plant ideas in everybody. He hadn't touched me with his hand, so I'm free for now. I didn't trust him back then, could this woman be telling the truth? I can't trust her either!_

"Why are you telling me all this? Are you afraid that your brother uses Juudaime and the rest of Vongola to attack you? So you want my help? It doesn't matter the situation, I would never fight Juudaime!"

"I am not afraid. I know that the surprise attack is coming tomorrow, probably at the morning, and I'll be waiting for it in Tashigi street. They cannot defeat me. Boris hasn't realized it yet, but he's going to give me Sawada Tsunayoshi."

Gokudera was going to pull the girl by the collar, but he couldn't move anymore. Catharina stood up and looked at his eyes with interest.

"I've been watching you two for a while. What you feel for each other is very beautiful; it almost reminds me of something I used to feel in my childhood. It's a fact that the Great Sky will belong to me tomorrow and after that he'll be lost for you forever. As a sign of respect for your feelings, I'm telling you all this. So you can confess your love to him before it's too late. I'm feeling generous, you know?"

Hayato didn't reply anything; he was in shock. _Confess my love for Juudaime? Love? What I feel for him… is love? That can't be true, right? _Tears began to form in his eyes as realization hit him. _All the protectiveness… how I'm always over worrying in a way nobody does. I think about him all the time; all I want is to keep him safe and happy. Whenever he smiles, I feel breathless; if he touches me, my heart pounds so fast… I would happily do everything for him. I would die for him, live for him, kill for him. Could this be more than friendship? More than the dedication of a subordinate?_

Everything was becoming dark and silent around him. Catharina vanished, saying "I'll be waiting for you to come."

_I love Juudaime._

Gokudera opened his eyes and found himself laying on the floor of his apartment, in front of the TV. Without thinking, he looked at his fist watch.

"07:45!" He yelled. Desperate, he rushed to Tashigi street.

Hours before that, Boris talked to Tsuna and Reborn privately at the kitchen.

"We should act tomorrow, it's too dangerous to let Catharina run free." Boris recommended, nervously.

"It's way too early for that. We should investigate more first." Reborn replied. Even though a voice in his mind, that he thought it was his own intuition, told him to trust Boris, he couldn't help but find the man suspicious somehow.

"We should contact Gokudera-kun." Tsuna said, grabbing his phone. Boris stopped the Tenth by holding his hand gently with his right one.

"It's not necessary to contact him, do you understand me, Vongola Tenth?" Boris assured, hiding his nervousness.

"Why not?" Reborn questioned, seriously. Boris began to sweat.

"When will the other guardians arrive?" The man tried to change the subject.

"I didn't call them. I'm not going to put anyone else in contact with you for now." Reborn answered, coldly.

"What do you mean? We must organize an attack right now!" Boris almost shouted, trying to grab the arcobaleno. However, Reborn pointed a gun at the man before he could touch him.

"I noticed you have this habit of touching everybody you meet with your right hand. Why do you do that?" Reborn inquired.

_This arcobaleno… could it be that my ability is losing its effectiveness? I was only able to touch him once, so it's expected. What do I do? I've come this far, I can't be defeated now!_

"Reborn," Tsuna spoke, "if we're not going to have a reunion, could we go to sleep? I'm tired."

The arcobaleno looked at his student in surprise. _Tsuna wants to sleep now? I thought he was too afraid of doing so._

"We'll continue this conversation tomorrow, then. Let's go upstairs, Dame Tsuna." Reborn stated. He left the kitchen along with the Tenth, but Boris could notice that the boy had sent him an enigmatic look. Alone in the kitchen, he wouldn't stop over thinking.

_I'm not strong enough to carry this plan on. I can't possibly control too many people at the same time! At any moment, even Sawada Tsunayoshi will break free of my ability. It's a disaster! What should I do? Catharina may know about my plans already. She might kill me soon. What do I do? What can I possibly do?_

"You're worried about her, aren't you?" Suddenly a voice brought Boris back to reality. He looked at the kitchen's entrance and found the Decimo standing there, still in his normal clothes (not pajamas). "It's not just because you're afraid of her power, you are worried about your sister, right?"

"Catharina is a demon! You should know it!" Boris replied, countering his despair. "Where is the arcobaleno now?"

"Reborn sleeps quickly. I came back here because I couldn't stop thinking. I need to talk to you, Boris-san." Tsuna spoke seriously.

"What is it?"

"Reborn is right, isn't he? You've put us under some sort of power."

The Russian man looked down, answering after a while:

"It's pointless to deny it. I was trying to use you to defeat my sister. But I'm just not strong enough! Come on, kill me. It's better than dying by Catharina's hands, anyway."

Surprisingly, Tsuna just sat in a chair at the other side of the table and looked to the young man across from him.

"I won't kill you or let anyone do so. However, I won't forgive you if you ever play with the people who are important to me again." Tsuna said with authority, acting a lot different from his usual self. Boris wondered if the reason for that change was because the boy cared too much about his family.

"Then, what are you going to do to me?"

"First of all, I want to know more about you two. You've said that your sister killed your father, how did that happen?"

Boris froze. Talking about that incident was really hard for him. With a hesitant voice, he began to narrate:

"We were a happy family, as long as I recall. Mom, Dad, Catharina and I were happy. Mom was tired all the time; we thought that she had a serious disease or something. When our powers began to manifest, she told us about our family, but she made us promise that we wouldn't use the power for evil purposes. However, she seemed always so sad whenever she said that. Her physical healthy was getting worse and worse, so Dad went out to look for a doctor one day. Catharina went with him; we were eight years old by that time. Mom was sleeping when they left; when she woke up and didn't find them, she became desperate."

"Why?" Tsuna asked, starting to feel bad for Boris.

"She told me that she was about to die and that her power would disappear… and then, she told me the truth about Dad." Boris's voice cracked a little. "When she was younger, she fell in love with him, but he didn't care about her. So she decided that he would be hers independently of his will. She forced him to love her, using her power. She had been doing that for more than eight years, without ever taking breaks. It was because of that… that she was dying. She begged to me to look for them, she was afraid of what Dad could do to Catharina once he recovered his consciousness. Mom's final words were 'protect your sister.'"

"What happened after that?" Tsuna questioned, tense. Boris wiped some tears that were forming in his eyes and continued:

"I looked for them, leaving Mom's body alone in our home. After 20 minutes I found Catharina sitting on the road next to a precipice. She had bruises and was bleeding… she was crying and looking to the precipice. I looked at its bottom and found Dad down there, dead. Catharina said that he had tried to kill her because she was a witch. She said that Dad was going to kill all of us… and then she did something that she couldn't explain properly… she made him want to jump into the precipice."

Tsuna felt his heart ache.

"It wasn't her fault, she was just defending herself." The Tenth said, not sure about what he should think of that act.

"Catharina changed after that. She told me that we couldn't trust anyone. She barely talked to me anymore. Her power grew exponentially and she was able to control many people at the same time… she eventually took control of our city, but it wasn't enough. I thought that all she wanted was power, and then I suggested that we would only be truly powerful if we could control the Mafia. She agreed, but also said that I shouldn't think of the two of us as equals… she called me 'weak' and 'disposable.' It was when I began to fear for my life. It took years, but she put the Russian Mafia under her control and kept growing stronger. One day, recently, she told me that she wanted to control Vongola, the strongest Mafia family. I could only agree… I was too afraid of her. We came to Japan because she knew that the Decimo was here… she became obsessed with you and the rest of the story you know."

Tsuna stayed silent for several minutes before speaking again.

"I'll go meet her."

Boris looked at the other with incredulity.

"What are you talking about? You can't fight her alone!"

"I'm not going to fight her; I'll just talk to her. If she's so interested in me, she'll hear me. Maybe I can do something to help her."

"Help her? Don't you understand the situation? She's too dangerous and too powerful!"

"She's your sister!" Tsuna protested, looking seriously at Boris. "Can you honestly say that you want her to get hurt?"

Boris didn't know what to say. He began to tremble and wanted to cry. _Catharina… if there was a way to change her back to what she used to be…_

"How can you be willing to do that, Vongola Tenth? After what both of us did… how can you still want to help us?"

Tsuna thought for a moment before replying.

"I simply can't let things like this. It's a situation different from everything that I've faced so far. I don't think it can be solved by battle. I feel that I must talk to her, and I must do it alone."

_He feels? Is it the so-called hyper-intuition?_ Boris wondered. Tsuna stood up and said:

"Please, show me the way, you don't need to confront her with me. If something happens, please, call Reborn."


	9. Strong yet kind

Thank you very much for the reviews, sorry for the wait.

**Chapter 9: Strong yet kind**

Tsuna stared at the wooden mansion, which had two floors. At the first one, there was a large door between two big windows covered, by the inside, by curtains. At the second floor, it could be seen three small windows, also covered.

Boris was scared of getting too close to the place, so he stayed at the beginning of the street, hid behind some shrubs. He had promised to Sawada Tsunayoshi that if the Decimo didn't return in one hour, he would contact Reborn.

What Boris and Tsuna hadn't realized was that they were already under the effect of Catharina's power.

They weren't sleeping, they really were near the mansion, but the girl was able to trick their sense of time.

Both of them had left Tsuna's home late at night and took 20 minutes to reach the place. However, Catharina didn't want to meet Tsuna yet, since she had prepared something for later to both the Great Sky and his Storm. So, Catharina made time pass very slowly to her brother's and Tsunayoshi's senses. While Tsuna thought he had been staring at the mansion for three minutes and Boris thought he was hid for two minutes, actually several hours had passed since their arrival.

A truly frightening ability she had.

_Something isn't right_. Tsuna felt suddenly and decided to enter the mansion immediately. The moment he passed through the door and closed it, Catharina stopped her ability over him. Because of the windows closed by the curtains, Tsuna believed it was still night outside. The mansion was dark and the Tenth could hear the sound of water dripping coming from another room; he concluded that it should be coming from the mansion's kitchen's faucet, probably broken. At his every move, the wooden floor would crack. Tsuna looked around and noticed that the living room didn't have any furniture. At his front there were stairs.

_She must be up there, waiting for me._ Was Tsuna scared? Yes. But he was determinate to do something. Even if he was Dame Tsuna almost the entire time, he just couldn't avoid feeling sad over the situation of the twins. _If something like that happened to me…_

Reaching the second floor, Tsuna saw an opened door at the end of the hall. He passed through it and entered a large room. The only light inside it was coming from a candle over a coffee table between two large armchairs. In one of them, Catharina was sitting.

Tsuna approached her slowly, she seemed gloomy, maybe because of the dark blue lace dress she was wearing. She looked at Tsuna coldly and said '"sit."

Tsuna did so and sat on the other armchair. _She's different from the other time._

Catharina smirked lightly, for Tsuna's surprise.

"And so the Great Sky of Vongola Famiglia came to save me. Aren't you scared of me anymore?"

Tsuna studied the girl. _Something has changed. Why does she seem so fragile to me now? I didn't have this feeling before._

"My stupid and coward brother made you come right to the tiger's mouth, expecting that you could get rid of me, how silly."

"That's not true!" Tsuna protested. "Boris-san wants you to be like you were before…"

"Before Father tried to kill me?" Catharina questioned, emotionlessly. "You're so naïve, Great Sky. Boris is not concerned about me or anything."

"Of course he is!" Tsuna protested again. "He's your brother!"

Catharina laughed wildly, scaring Tsuna a bit. Then, she calmed herself and spoke bitterly:

"My father was always so kind to me. When I was little, I remember I saw a beautiful doll in a lace dress in a store; Father told me that he'd give me one someday… we were not rich, so he couldn't ever give me one. I didn't care though. I already had that strong and kind man taking care of me, my brother and Mother. I was happy enough."

"…" Tsuna couldn't reply anything.

"What? Am I already making you feel sad, Great Sky? Are you trying to imagine what I felt when that person that I loved so deeply tried to kill me? It's obvious that I was scared… but do you know what was funny?"

Tsuna was feeling anxious as the bitterness in Catharina's voice increased exponentially as she kept talking.

"That strong and big man was the most scared of us. He was trembling in fear of me. I hadn't realized it at that moment… I felt guilty and confused after I _made_ him step away; but when I told Boris what had happened and I saw the same fear in his eyes… I understood everything."

"It doesn't have to be like that." Tsuna said, sadly.

"So you already got it? I'm strong, Great Sky. I'm stronger than most people can conceive. It's inevitable that I'll be feared by others. As long as everybody is weaker than me, everybody will fear me… and I'll despise all of them. But now I'm a little relieved."

"Why?"

"When I saw you for the first time, you were with your right-hand man. I noticed right away your eyes. You looked at him so kindly and sweetly. I asked myself if Vongola Decimo could really have eyes like those, so I tested you. You didn't have your mind destroyed by my power… and now you're in front of me in free will trying to help me. You're strong, Great Sky, and yet you're kind. You're strong enough to walk by my side. I want you to be mine. I want your eyes to look at me like they look at Gokudera Hayato."

Tsuna blushed lightly at the mention of Gokudera-kun, regaining his focus right after.

"You're mistaken. You don't need someone as strong as you by your side. Give a chance to your brother, he'll show you-"

"You don't understand yet the burden of being chained to the weak. Gokudera Hayato is so much weaker than you. He's a burden that will soon cause you a lot of pain."

"Don't talk like that about Gokudera-kun!" Tsuna was now angered. "He's intelligent, brave, dedicated, hard-worker, loyal and very strong!"

"Really?" Catharina questioned, meanly. "What do you think of his mental strength?"

"What do you mean?"

"It's probably 8:30 or 8:40 now. It's already done."

"What is done?" Tsuna asked urgently, having a bad feeling.

"I'm able to mess with people's senses, including the sense of time. I can make hours feel like minutes or the other way around; I can also make a certain person enter this mansion without being noticed by my foolish brother… and make horrible things to this person, break his soul mercilessly, without letting _you_ notice it."

Tsuna's eyes were wide in pure horror. Catharina smiled serenely and said:

"The Storm is in the kitchen downstairs now. Why don't you go check how is your _strong_ and _brave_ Gokudera-kun?"

**Sorry for the short chapter (it's already late, and I don't want to write what happened to Gokudera when I'm sleepy – it'sad). I promise that I won't take too much time to write the next one. :)**


	10. Lost

**Thank you for the reviews. :)**

**Now, the chapter showing what Catharina did to Hayato.**

**Chapter 10: Lost**

Gokudera arrived at Tashigi Street at 8 o'clock and found nobody. The guardian of the Storm couldn't understand what was happening. _What about the surprise attack? Why isn't anyone here?_

It didn't take too long for him to realize that there was only one wooden mansion at the street, which made him feel chills. _Could this be…?_

Trembling, Hayato opened the door and entered the place. For his shock, it wasn't the first time he had been there.

Gokudera began to hyperventilate as he remembered that horrible nightmare.

"This is that place… where I saw Juudaime… the blood coming out of his wounds… his small, trembling and cold hand…"

The guardian of the Storm fell to his knees, embracing himself. It was as if he was experiencing the nightmare again. He closed his eyes and that image invaded his mind.

_Juudaime... bleeding on the floor... so many deep wounds from which blood flowed... his face with no color... eyes half-opened..._

He could even hear that voice again.

_"You're okay... Gokudera-kun... that's good..."_

Gokudera fainted. When he woke up, he was sitting at the kitchen's floor, leaning against a wall next to the place's entrance, with his hands handcuffed above his head. The handcuffs were connected to a chain that came from the ceiling. Gokudera felt very weak, as if his energy was being drained somehow. In his front, he could see a large table with chains and handcuffs; there should be a broken faucet in the kitchen, since the guardian could hear the sound of water dripping.

"What happened to me?" Gokudera asked himself. From the entrance, Catharina walked into the kitchen. She kneeled in front of Gokudera, so their eyes met.

"It was time for you to wake up, Storm." The girl said happily.

"Damn you!" Hayato roared. "What have you done to me? What's going on here? Where are Juudaime and the others?"

"You fainted after remembering that sweet dream I had made for you. It seems my brother changed his mind and there won't be an attack today."

Gokudera sighed in relief after hearing that. _Juudaime is not coming to this dangerous place. I'm so glad._

"I think you might be misunderstanding something." Catharina said with a malicious grin. "Sawada Tsunayoshi is coming here. In fact, he's coming alone."

Hayato's face went deadly pale.

_Why would he…?_ Realization hit the guardian of the Storm as he heard someone invading the mansion and running to the kitchen. It didn't take long for him to see his beloved boss entering the kitchen desperately, panting and sweating.

"Gokudera-kun!" Tsuna called out. He turned to his right-hand man and faced him worriedly. "You're not hurt, right? She hasn't done anything bad to you, right?"

"You came pretty fast, Great Sky." Catharina commented, standing up.

"I did as you demanded, I'm here. Now free Gokudera-kun!"

"Juudaime…" Gokudera was feeling horribly guilty. _He came because of me. He's putting himself in danger because of me._

"First, put on these handcuffs, Vongola Decimo." Catharina ordered, giving the Tenth a pair of handcuffs that were on the table. "They were made to seal the dying will flame. If you don't obey me…" The girl took a tiny remote control from the pocket of her blue dress, "I'll make a lethal poison kill your right-hand man in seconds."

Tsuna's eyes went wide in fear, which Gokudera noticed. _He can't be considering it… please, don't you even think about it…_

"How can I know you're really going to free Gokudera-kun?" The Tenth managed to ask.

"I have no interest in him at all, Great Sky. The handcuffs are already programmed to let him go after a while. I swear on my life that he's not going to get hurt. You know I'm telling you the truth, don't you?"

For Gokudera's despair, he saw his boss taking the handcuffs from Catharina's hand.

"JUUDAIME, DON'T DO THAT! IF YOU PUT THEM ON, YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO FIGHT!"

"If I don't put them on, you'll die." Tsuna replied, without looking at Hayato.

"B-but what about you? Y-you'll be defenseless! SHE MIGHT KILL YOU, JUUDAIME!" Gokudera cried out. "Please, don't do it. Leave me behind and run away. Please, Juudaime, run from here!"

"You don't have the right to tell me this, Gokudera-kun." Tsuna said, putting the handcuffs on. "You're the one who came here without telling anyone in the first place."

"I THOUGHT YOU WERE HERE, I THOUGHT YOU WERE IN DANGER!" Gokudera replied among tears. Tsuna, already handcuffed, turned to him and forced a smile.

"I'm not mad at you."

Those words just hurt Gokudera more. He tried to break free, but it was futile. Meanwhile, Catharina ordered Tsuna to lie down on the table. He did so and she chained his body.

_What do I do? I must take Juudaime out of here, but how? How can I break free of this thing? If I could use the dying will flame, if I could use Cambio Forma… what do I do? Think! Think!_

"What do you want from me?" Tsuna questioned, trying to hide his fear. Catharina stroked his face and smiled widely after she picked a big knife from the washbasin.

"Please, don't…" Gokudera was now begging to her. "I'll do anything you want. I'll do everything. You can hurt me, you can kill me, but please don't do it!"

"What I want from you, Great Sky…" Catharina was holding the knife above Tsuna's chest, while Gokudera was trying to get free desperately.

"DON'T DO IT! LEAVE JUUDAIME ALONE! I BEG YOU, DON'T DO THIS TO HIM!"

"… is your heart."

After several cries and struggles, it was all over. Catharina covered the Tenth with a white sheet that turned red in a few minutes. She freed the Sky from the chains and left the kitchen. Gokudera was left alone with Tsuna.

There were no longer tears for him to drop.

His throat couldn't sustain more yells.

His wrists were sore because of his struggle.

And soon, he was released from the handcuffs automatically.

He was shaking as he stood up; he approached the table slowly. When the red soaked sheet that covered his boss was at his reach, the Storm hesitated in removing it.

That fear was horrifying.

He uncovered his boss's face and new tears managed to form in his eyes. By seeing that beautiful face so pale, Hayato lost the balance and almost fell. Despite the paleness and the blood-soaked sheet, Tsuna almost seemed to be sleeping peacefully.

Gokudera caressed his Juudaime's face and ran his fingers through the other's brown hair.

"Judaime, I'm here now. We can go home. I'm sorry to disturb you while you're sleeping."

His entire body was trembling.

"Reborn-san might get mad at you for being so reckless, but I won't let him punch or kick you. I won't let anyone be mean to you. Later we could all go out; you would like that, wouldn't you? I wouldn't mind if you wanted to invite the baseball fanatic, lawn-head or even the stupid cow. I promise I wouldn't argue with them. Doesn't it sound fun to you, Juudaime? You just need to wake up… when you wake up… I'll make you so happy…"

Tsuna's lifeless face made Hayato's heart ache terribly.

"Open your eyes, Juudaime. Say once again 'it's okay, Gokudera-kun.' Smile for me one more time, please."

He couldn't deceive himself anymore. He knew that he had lost his precious Sky. He lifted Tsuna's cold body and hugged him. He kept hugging his boss even after he fell to the floor and began to cry out again. His world, his heart, his soul… everything was destroyed.


	11. Return

Tiny chapter to clarify things (sorry if chapter 10 was confusing).

**Chapter 11: Return**

Tsuna ran down the stairs, concerned about Gokudera. _Be okay. Please, be okay!_

When he entered the kitchen, he saw Gokudera sitting on the floor, near the table, apparently holding something (or someone) invisible. His face was stained by the tears he was dropping; his eyes were glazed and wide.

"Gokudera-kun, are you okay?" Tsuna questioned, getting close to him. _Is he dreaming? Can he dream with his eyes opened?_ Catharina's words were echoing in his mind.

"… _and make horrible things to this person, break his soul mercilessly, without letting__you__notice it."_

"Snap out of it, Gokudera-kun!" Tsuna was now kneeling in front of his guardian, holding the other's face gently. The panic was dominating the young Vongola. "You're dreaming, Gokudera-kun! Whatever happened, it wasn't real! Everything is okay, please, snap out of it!"

"See?" Catharina, who had followed Tsuna downstairs, was now at the kitchen's entrance. "He's not so strong and brave now, is he? He was so easily broken."

Tsuna glared at her in pure anger. "Free Gokudera-kun, now!"

"Why? He's so quiet now. It's so pleasant, almost as if he has become a vegetable."

The deep hatred Tsuna was feeling for Catharina was now boiling. _Is she having fun with this? How can she just stand there and let Gokudera-kun in this state? I must help him, no matter what! If I lose him…_

"If the Storm is so important to you, we can make a deal." Catharina proposed. "Come with me and leave all these people behind, if you do it, I'll free your Gokudera-kun."

Tsuna didn't know what to do. He couldn't trust her, but he didn't have how to know if Gokudera would go back to normal if Catharina was defeated. However, going with her wasn't the right thing to do. He would worry everybody and all of them, including Gokudera-kun, would look for him. Besides, he could become the girl's puppet and Catharina could make him do horrible things.

Before Tsuna replied anything, he heard Gokudera's voice. The guardian of the Storm was whispering.

"Protect Juudaime… always protect… never let anything bad happen to him… I'm Judaime's right-hand man… I promised I'd protect…"

"Gokudera-kun! I'm here, I'm right in front of you!" Tsuna tried to make the other hear his voice, but it was useless. Catharina grinned at the scene.

"If you have doubts, I'll allow you to deal with the situation for now, Great Sky." Catharina said, leaving the kitchen. _This might be interesting._

"Gokudera-kun." Tsuna talked to his guardian one more time, trying not to cry. "I'll make her turn you back to normal, I promise you."

Tsuna tried to stand up, but Gokudera suddenly held his arm fiercely. Startled, Tsunayoshi saw the enormous despair in Hayato's eyes.

"Bring… him… back… woman."

_What Gokudera-kun is saying?_ Tsuna wondered, astonished. _He called me woman? Don't tell me he thinks I'm Catharina!_

"Bring back… bring back…" Gokudera spoke in low voice as he squeezed Tsuna's arm. The Storm guardian was clearly out of his mind.

"It's me, Gokudera-kun! I'm Tsuna, not Catharina! You have to wake up!" Tsuna managed to get free of Hayato's grasp. However, Gokudera stood up and invoked his Cambio Forma.

_What is he planning to do?_ The Sky asked himself in horror. The Storm gazed at the person in his front like a maniac.

"Bring him back… return him… bring my Juudaime back… bring Juudaime back… or I'll kill you…"


	12. The end of all things

Dynamites were being thrown everywhere. Tsuna barely had time to enter in hyper-mode and fly to the living room before the fire began to spread in high speed.

_I must do something, but what? If I run, would Gokudera-kun be able to leave this place safely? I have a horrible feeling._

**Chapter 12: The end of all things**

Seeing the devil in his front, in the middle of a whirlpool.

_**As if someone like you would be accepted by any family, Smoking Bomb!**_

_**Hayato-kun is not the son of the Madam?**_

_**I know that until you met Tsuna you were a lonely wolf.**_

_**You were loved by both your parents.**_

_**If a pinprick like you becomes the Vongola Juudaime, the family is finished. I refuse to accept it!**_

_**You're a nuisance, die right here!**_

_**I WAS MISTAKEN! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO'S FIT TO BE THE BOSS!**_

_**Juudaime, I'll follow you, command me to do anything.**_

_**For putting yourself on the line to save me, I'll put my life in your hands.**_

_**Juudaime.**_

"If I use zero chitten toppa, I could stop him, but the fire is already everywhere. It's coming out of the dynamites; it's storm flames!"

Gokudera was coming in Tsuna's direction slowly, preparing more dynamites to throw. His face didn't show any emotion anymore, as if it belonged to someone who had already lost his life.

At the top of the stairs, Catharina observed everything seriously, not worried by the fact that the flames would catch her if she didn't run_. Do you realize it already, Great Sky?_

_It's so hot here! It's getting hard to breathe. I have to get close to Gokudera-kun and freeze his hands. If I'm too close, he wouldn't attack because it would harm him as well._

Tsuna flew to Gokudera, but when he was a few centimeters away from him, the guardian of the storm threw dozens of dynamite around them and grabbed both of Tsuna's hands.

_What is he trying to do?_ Tsuna was desperately trying to break free. _We're both going to die if all these things explode so close to us!_

_**I'm glad Tsuna has made such a reliable friend like you.**_

_**Don't worry, Okaa-sama. I'll definitely protect Juudaime.**_

_**I won't let Juudaime get even one scratch.**_

_**I will train harder. With the training, I'll become a person who's fit to be your right-hand man!**_

_**Juudaime, I'm sorry, I'm really sorry!**_

_**It's not your fault, Gokudera-kun.**_

_**There isn't one day when Tsuna doesn't mention you, Gokudera-kun.**_

_**Even if I die here, I won't withdraw!**_

_**Stop joking around! Have you thought about what you're fighting for? It's so that we can all have snowball fights together again! And see the fireworks together again! That's why we became strong! So that everyone can laugh together again! If you die, then all that no longer has any meaning, right?**_

_**What was the older me doing? How could I let Juudaime die?**_

_**I'll follow you until the very end, Juudaime.**_

He grabbed the devil in his front… the devil in the middle of the whirlpool.

"I'll take her down to Hell, and then…"

_Gokudera-kun, you have to let go! How can I protect you like this? What? He's… smiling now…_

"… I'll follow you until the very end, Juudaime. I love you."

Tsuna's heart skipped a beat as he understood everything. However, he wasn't thinking anymore at that moment. He head butted Gokudera hardly and made him pass out, then Tsuna invoked the mantelo di Vongola Primo and covered the guardian with it. Right after that, he held Gokudera while putting his right hand behind him and shouting "OPERATION X! THE ORIGINAL ONE!"

It took two seconds for them to set fly from the place using the original X-Burner as propulsion. However, the whole mansion exploded when they crossed the door.

The darkness fell on the sky.

Tsuna saw himself in a cold forest; snow was falling from the sky.

"Where am I? What happened?" He asked himself, confused.

"I brought your 'inner you' here." A voice replied from his left. It was Catharina.

"What happened to Gokudera-kun?" Tsuna questioned anxiously.

"Both of you are in the hospital now. Thanks to that arcobaleno that happens to be your home tutor, you'll both survive." Catharina said that in an almost kind tone, which bothered Tsuna.

"What are you planning to do now, Catharina?"

"Right now I can't do anything. I was so caught up in watching you that I couldn't run from the fire." She said as if mentioning a minor detail.

"You mean…" Horrified, Tsuna couldn't end the question.

"That's right, Great Sky. My body was reduced to ashes." The girl smiled softly after saying that.

"W-wait! You died? Then how can you be here? I-I don't understand!"

"My power is beyond human comprehension. I can't stop existing even if my body perishes. My inner world is immortal."

Tsuna felt deep angst and sadness. _I wasn't able to save her, in the end._

"Don't be so down. My coward brother ran away right after knowing I died, I think he must be relieved now."

"Damn it!" Tsuna was now deeply angry. "What was the point in all that? How can it end like this? This is not right! It should've ended better!"

"Don't be such a child, Vongola Tenth. You can't save everybody and not everything can have a happy ending. As a Mafia boss, you should know it."

"How come you're so calm now? I don't get it. I DON'T GET IT AT ALL!"

"As I said before, my power is beyond human's understanding. It's just a matter of time until I find a way to return to the real world and we stay together."

_She's able to come back from death?_ For a second, Tsuna felt something similar to relief, but then the realization of the second part of her speech hit him.

"What the hell are you saying? There's nothing you can do to make me stay with you!"

"So you haven't understood it yet?" Catharina smiled widely. "Our battle is over. I won."

And then everything vanished.

Tsuna woke up in a hospital bed. Gokudera was sitting next to him, trying to hold his tears.

"Juudaime, I'm so happy that you're alive! I had a horrible nightmare, you see? That damn woman… at least she's dead now, so nothing to worry about. It was her who hurt you, right? I'm so sorry for making you rescue me! I'll train harder. I'll be stronger, I promise you!"

Even feeling guilty, Gokudera was expecting to hear the reply "it's ok, Gokudera-kun, it wasn't your fault." But Tsuna just stayed silent in the bed, listening to everything his storm guardian had to say. His eyes were extremely sad.

_Why is he like this? Shouldn't Juudaime be happy that Catharina died? Is he disappointed at me for not helping in his fight? He seems to be so hurt. What's wrong?_

_Gokudera-kun doesn't know that he's the one who fought me. Maybe nobody knows. I can hide this from him. I can't tell what he might do if he finds out the truth. I must keep this to myself. I don't want him to get hurt._

**Days later.**

_At first I thought it was only in my mind, but now it's hard not to notice it. Juudaime changed. His smiles have been forced since he woke up in the hospital that time. He fakes joy when talks to me; his eyes are sad all the time. I ask him what the problem is, but he always replies that everything is fine. He asks me not to worry about him._

_I want to punch him when he says that. I feel like punching him hard and making him tells me what's wrong. I think I'm losing my sanity. I can't stand this. But I don't know what to do. Someone, please, tell me what to do. I've trained so hard to protect Juudaime, but I haven't learned how to make him happy._

_I want to give him everything. I want to do everything to him. I don't care what it is. If burning my house would make him smile honestly, I'd do it. He doesn't tell me anything. He says that everything is fine._

_Sometime I'm going to snap. I'll beg him to be honest with me. I'll tell him how I feel. Juudaime, I love you so much that it hurts. I want to kiss you and hug you; I want to hold you in my arms and stay close to you forever. I want to see you all the time. I want to make you happy._

_Please, let me make you happy._

**They went to the cinema that day.**

_I'll watch the zombie movie until the end. That would make Gokudera-kun happy. I want him to be happy. Whenever he's worried about me and asks me what is wrong, I feel like crying. How could I tell him? He's not that strong. Knowing the truth would crush him._

_I wish I could go back to how it was before. I would be the no-good kid who didn't want to be a mafia boss, he would be the strong, intelligent and cool guy who wanted to be my right-hand-man. We would be friends and have a lot of fun. I would worry about him being reckless, but then feel relieved when he returns safely to me._

_A part of me would be happy to have someone who cared so much about me._

_But I can't go back to the time when I didn't know._

_Gokudera-kun loves me and wanted to die when he thought I was dead._

_I can't pretend it didn't happen._

_I'm strong. I never wanted to believe in that. I just wanted to protect my friends and have a good life. To protect the world… it just felt too distant from me._

_I always thought that, no matter what threat I would face, everything would return to normality later. We would all laugh and have fun._

_But if something ever happens to me, Gokudera-kun would be destroyed._

_Every time I look at him I remember of this fact and feel desperate. _

_I wish he could be stronger. I can't stand hiding all of this from him, but I don't want to make him suffer._

_I care so much about him that it hurts._

_What do I do?_

**They were now in a cafeteria.**

"Juudaime, choose anything you want, I'll pay."

"You don't need to, Gokudera-kun."

"I insist, Juudaime. Please, let me pay. What do you like the most?"

"Seriously, I don't want you to bother about it, Gokudera-kun."

"You like vanilla cake, right? I'll buy the biggest one for you. I'm sure it's tasty, you'll enjoy it."

"It's okay, Gokudera-kun."

**The fanfic ends here, I may write a continuation someday. I've been busy lately and I apologize for not updating the story. I thank you all for the patience and for the reviews. :)**


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